


I Sing the Wind Chime's Song

by Taciturn



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-29 20:12:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11448210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taciturn/pseuds/Taciturn
Summary: Continuation of CLEAN.It's quiet, and the silence is only blissful for a few moments.





	I Sing the Wind Chime's Song

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hypaalicious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hypaalicious/gifts).



> I did the thing, and I regret everything. I'm literally at a loss for words.

_It's quiet._

The beauty of Insomnia never ceased to amaze you, especially when you looked down at the city from a height. You had found the tiny parapet to be your favorite place of solitude after the announcement of Noctis' engagement. Covert preparations for the prince's trip had cut both you and Ignis from any leisurely time. In the last week, you had barely exchanged greetings in passing.

Your orders as a member of the Crownsguard had its own change of pace. Instead of being charged to care for Regis and the royal family, a shift towards protecting the citizens of Insomnia had caused confusion amongst ranks. Talk of the Kingsglaive being responsible for the protection of the citadel during the signing of the peace treaty had you antsy to say the least.

Your instincts warned you that the Niflheimempire was not to be trusted with talk of peace. You had a gut feeling that there was a nasty storm of bad news brewing underneath all the whispers and plans. However, the only thing that could be done was to trust in Regis' decisions. You weren't running the country after all.

You sighed and leaned against the railing of the watch tower. Thoughts of what was going to happen to Insomnia after the peace treaty was signed and after the prince's wedding to the Oracle swirled in your mind while you watched the city below.

Many of the thoughts and scenarios that played out in your head were too complicated and heavy for you to dwell on for very long. The lights of the city glittered and danced in erratic pulses as people continued on with their regular routine, regardless of what hour it was. Below, you could hear the hum and occasional honk from vehicles. It was unusually cool for the beginning of summer. Nights were still rather chill and brought the occasional brisk wind. You rather enjoyed the weather though. It meant that you could keep wearing gloves.

Softly, you hummed to yourself an old lullaby while you soaked in the solitude that came with your personal hiding place. You were grateful to have found this place for it did quite well to help settle your frazzled nerves and growing anxiety. Though it was a pain to climb all the stairs to the top of the watch tower, you had never noticed anyone else up there. You were almost guaranteed alone time, and that allowed your thoughts to wander and contemplate the what ifs once there was peace.

"That's a lovely tune, but don't you think it's quite chilly?" a familiar voice asked from behind you.

"Ignis!" you whirled around in surprise, "How'd you find me here?"

"I didn't. I used to frequent this place quite often when I was young. I thought to visit again before I left, just for old time's sake."

"Shouldn't you be sleeping? You leave tomorrow, don't you?"

"I do, but I suppose I have too much on my mind to sleep tonight." He walked over to lean against the railing besides you. Glancing down he let out a soft chuckle when he noticed you were wearing his gloves. "I'm surprised that you haven't found a pair that better suit your hands."

You laced your fingers together and stretched out towards the sky. "I'll find a better pair of gloves when you find a better necklace to fit around your neck."

"Ah, well then, I suppose you'll be stuck with those old gloves for a very long time."

"That's fine by me," you grinned, wiggling your fingers a bit in front of his face. "Look, they even have room at the tips for me to grow into."

He chuckled, taking one of your hands into his and gently pinching the top of your finger to see how how much room was there. "I'm sure they'll fit you perfectly by the time I return."

"You'll really be gone for that long?" you asked, leaning in and looking up at him.

"I can't say for sure how long I'll be gone for. Altissia is rather far. We also don't know what obstacles may greet us on our journey."

"I know... but that doesn't make this whole situation seem any more fair..."

The city cast a faint glow across his face. Though it was dim, you could see how the last few days had taken a toll on him. The corners of his eyes were red from lack of sleep; and his usually sharp features were hallowed out and slightly gaunt, probably from not eating proper meals. Still, despite all these things, he was strikingly handsome. It was hard to read his expression behind his glasses, and you briefly wished you could read his mind to ease his worries. You felt a blush creep up across your face, thinking of how close you were to him and how the color of his eyes almost matched the lights of the city.

You didn't realize that he was still holding your hand until he pulled you close after a rather cold gust of wind blew past the two of you. He twirled you around so that your back was to him and wrapped his arms around your chest in a tight embrace. You felt your heart hammering in your chest, and you could feel the blush that was earlier on your face spread quickly to your ears. Before you could protest, you felt him rest his head at the crook of your neck. "Let me have this moment to indulge, please," he murmured, his thumb ran slow circles at the back of your palm as he hummed, rather off tune, to the lullaby from earlier.

"Sing it for me, will you, please? It truly was a lovely song and I hardly think I do it justice," he whispered into your ear, swaying gently side to side to the tempo of the tune.

"Of course..."

Against the constant whirring buzz of the city below, you hummed the old tune over and over again, wishing the song never ended so the night would last forever.

~~~

_Don't leave._

_Do you have to go? Please don't go. When will I see you again? Will I even see you again?_ Your worries swirled in your head, making it neigh impossible to relax and melt into his embrace as you wanted to. There were so many things you wanted to say; however, you kept humming the tune like a spell to keep time frozen for the two of you. You tried to focus on what was happening at that moment. His warmth and even breathing, the way his hair tickled your cheek, you wanted to burn the memory of this moment forever into your mind.

Dark storm clouds silently moved in above, muffling and containing the sounds of the city below. Time slowed as you breathed in Ignis's scent. Every now and then, you would catch him softly humming along as he became more accustomed to the notes. The distant rumble of thunder caused you to startle slightly. Soon after, the soft, tell tale patter of rain and the sweet scent of petrichor put a full stop to your magical moment.

"Ah, rain wasn't in the forecast..." Ignis murmured, looking up at the sky, watching the lightning pulsing through the clouds. "We should head in before it starts getting bad."

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to catch a cold right before your big trip."

"Indeed, that would be most unfortunate," he concurred. He started to walk back; but you stopped him, tugging at the corner of his suit jacket. He paused and looked at you. "Is there something wrong?"

You shook your head and looked pointedly at the ground. Your grip on his jacket tightened ever so slightly as you tugged him back towards you.

"But if you get sick, I guess that means you wouldn't be able to leave..." you murmured, your voice muffled by the sound of rain that started to come down harder and harder.

"Come now, we'll both be soaked if we stay out much longer," he tried to reason with you.

"It'll be okay if it's only a little bit longer right?"

_Don't go. Astrals above, please don't leave. I don't have anyone else. I'll be alone. I'll die here. Don't leave me alone. I don't want to be alone again._

You looked up at him with hopeful eyes, praying he would humor you, even for a little bit. He sighed and gently pulled your hand away from his jacket. "I thought you told me you were going to be responsible for your own actions," he chided. You were grateful for the rain hiding how misty your eyes were from holding back tears. Ignis seemed to silently understand your silent, desperate plea for him to stay. "But I suppose I could make an exception this one time."

You sighed deeply in relief when he didn't let go of your hand, and you stood as still as you could. You breathed deeply and let out the sob that you had been holding back. Ignis was silent as he let you heave and cry out all the emotions and unspoken words you had bottled up inside. His hand never left yours as you let your tears melt into the rain that drowned out the sound of the city below.

He pulled you close to his chest and let you cry until you had nothing more than hiccups left in you, and the rain stopped when the barest blush of dawn crested past the horizon.

~~~

_Come back._

He hadn't even left yet, and you were already wishing for his return. The sun was ironically and unapologetically bright the morning of his departure. As hard as goodbyes were, you forced yourself to see him before he left. You didn't bother to hide the dark circles under your eyes, nor did you care if he saw how bloodshot they were from all the crying you had done.

"I'll be sure to contact you as much as I can," he reassured, placing his hand on your shoulder. "When I come back, I'll show you the pictures of where we've been. It'll be like you were there with us."

"You're going on the trip of a lifetime, and you're going to worry about contacting me? You should be worrying about that prince of yours. Make sure no one tries to rob him."

"Of course, that honor belongs to you," he jested.

Though the banter between the two of you was light, you could feel how heavy the air was. There were so many unsaid words and emotions between you, and you couldn't bare to lay them all on him at this moment. Gathering all of those feelings you had kept bottled inside of you since his birthday, you swallowed your pride and let him go.

"You should get going, you don't want them to wait on you."

"No, I suppose not. You should be on your way as well. Do the Crownsguard honor and guard the city well for our return."

"I wouldn't think of doing anything else," you held up a mock salute as you watched him walk away. You bit the inside of your lower lip to keep yourself from crying again. _I thought I had run out of tears last night, I guess I was wrong._

"Ah, I almost forgot," he commented after a few steps. He turned and briskly walked back to where you were standing. Regarding you with a small smile, he pulled you close to him, placing a soft kiss on your forehead. "Above all else, stay safe for me," he whispered.

"Of course. I promise."

~~~

_Come back._

Though your life as a thief was long behind you, you still held onto the skill of picking a lock or two near and dear to your heart. It was a skill you found most useful to break into Ignis' office in the evenings when he found time to call you.

You fumbled around in the dark office to find his chair which you gracelessly flopped into. Instinctively, you pulled your knees up to your chest when you got a whiff of the lingering smell of leather and cologne. Just as you got comfortable, your phone vibrated.

_On time as always._ You thought, glancing down at your phone and noticing it was 10 sharp when it had gone off.

"Hi," you whispered. If you closed your eyes and imagined hard enough, it was as if he was there with you at that very moment, sharing the warmth of his office with you.

"Hey," he replied. His voice sounded strained and weary.

"How was your day? Has his royal highness learned to love his vegetables yet?"

He chuckled softly, you could hear shuffling in the background. "He's come to accept that they're necessary in his normal diet; however, he refuses to eat them still. I'm starting to believe that he's lashing out just to spite me."

"Sounds like it. How was the drive today? Did you see anything cool?"

"Nothing more than the open road today."

"I see."

You let the line go silent for a while, closing your eyes. You imagined what it would be like in the Regalia with the prince and his escorts, cruising down the open highways with the top down, the scenery flying by you. There was more shuffling around on his end of the line. You briefly heard a zipper being undone followed by the rustle of fabric and you heard the telltale click of his phone being placed down.

"You're on speaker," he explained. "We plan on driving most of tomorrow, and I'd like to prepare some food for the road."

"Prepared as always," you teased, letting your side of the line go silent again while you listened to him work. You tried to imagine his deft hands as they effortlessly moved across the cutting board, how they would look under the illumination of a camping light, the way the shadows would dance in unison to his movements.

"Won't you hum that one tune for me? I do so love it dearly." You could hear rhythmic chopping over his end of the line as he prepared rations for the next day. A small blush crept across your face, as you were reminded of his warm embrace from only a couple of weeks before.

Closing your eyes, you brought yourself back to that night, recalling the warmth, the rain and the song that he ended up loving. You were pleasantly surprised when he hummed along with the tune after a while, and it made it feel as if he was that much closer to you.

"Hey Ignis?" you asked as you listened to him finish his work for the evening and pack up his cooking gear.

"Yes?"

"After this peace treaty is signed and you guys come back. Will you take me on a trip across Eos with you?"

"Of course."

_~~~_

_Stay away._

The sky burned as Insomnia fell. Steeling yourself with the training given to you, you fended off creatures while keeping an eye out for civilians as best as you could. The people were your responsibility, and you were going to do your damnedest to see that they were going to get out of this mess. Surprisingly, in those desperate moments, even those who had turned their backs on you came to your aid.

Your old comrades had banded together, seeking you out shortly after the attack on Insomnia had begun. You were frantically running around from one street to another, looking for any stragglers or anyone in need of help. Your legs ached and your lungs burned from the smoke, but you knew you couldn't stop. Turning the corner, you stopped dead when you saw their familiar faces. Their expressions varied from fearful to angry. You took a breath to point them in the direction of shelter, but the one you had known the longest stopped you from saying anything.

"I'mma get righ 't th' point wit ya. I ain't like how ya went off ta be some stuffy Crownsdog, but ya need help righ' now and y'know m'boys know these streets bettern' anyone."

You nodded in agreement. There was little time for formalities, but you understood their good intentions well enough to know that it was a moment of solidarity born out of necessity. "Git to it," you said, slipping back into the heavy accent you had before your time in the citadel. "If we live, I'mma hav ta split mah savin's t' pay y'all."

The leader of the pack let out a sharp laugh. "That'll be a sight t' see! Y'heard 'er. Les git them blokes t' the safe houses!"

You split up from them to continue your search for civilians. Every now and then, you would pass one of your old comrades. With a quick nod and a brief gesture, you were able to ascertain the situation much better. _Guess my old network's still good for something..._

You could feel the phone in your pocket vibrate as you ran while escorting a mother and child to shelter. You couldn't judge what time it was due to the smoke that constantly billowed into the sky. Going off of how long you had been running and how winded you were, you could only assume it was Ignis calling you for his nightly talk.

_Don't come back, Ignis. The world is burning, and this is the only thing I can do to protect you from it._

"Keep following this path, it'll lead you out to safety and ---"

Your sentence was cut short when an explosion knocked you cleanly off your feet, flinging you against a wall. You could hear the roar of something inhuman approach. Struggling to get back on your feet, your vision blurred; and the sounds around you were deafening. You were light headed, and you could feel blood dripping down the side of your face.

From a distance, you could hear a cry for help; and you stumbled towards it. The smoke from the explosion made your eyes water, and your vision blurred even further. You continued to stagger towards the sound, trying your best to block out the ringing and pain that came from your right side.

In the distance, you could see the faint outline of someone hurrying a small figure away; and the sound faded. You internally sighed in relief that no one would need to see your banged up state. You could hear shouting from all around, but the ringing in your head continued to get louder and louder until it consumed you; and you could feel your consciousness slipping away from you.

_Ignis, I'm sorry, it seems that I can't keep promises very well._

Your world became as dark as the sky above.

~~~

When you came to, the sounds of the world were muffled as if people were talking to you through a thick wall of glass. The loud ringing in right ear made it difficult to discern what was being said. Tilting your head towards the voices, you started to understand the situation better.

"How many of us are left?"

"Counting her, not enough."

"What's going on?" You squinted against the dim lighting and made out the shapes of two other recruits. "How long was I out?" Your head spun as you tried to sit up straight. A large, reassuring hand pushed you back down.

"About a day and a half," your comrade explained. "Looks like you may have ruptured your ear drum. We were too late in getting to you to heal it all the way. There... may be some permanent damage."

You reached up to your face to feel the scarred and raised marks that were there. From what you could tell, the scars stretched themselves from your ear to your cheek, reaching down towards your jaw and neck. Looking down, you could see that your arm had been marked as well from the explosion. On occasion, your ear would throb, shooting pain down your whole side.

"I... I see. Well, that explains the ringing in my head," you murmured, realizing how tattered and broken you looked. Your fingers idly brushed against the raised scars on your arm while you contemplated the situation.

"Probably... You need to rest up. It's nasty on the outside, that's for sure."

_Stay safe, Ignis. The world is burning, and I can only pray that the road you are on leads you to sanctuary._

"Can't say how many civilians made it out of the initial attack, but whoever's left probably won't make it out. Niflheim's taken over and there are daemons everywhere outside."

You sighed and buried your head in your hands.

"What'll become of us?" you asked looking up to them, hoping one of them had an answer to all of this. When the silence stretched past a minute, you sighed and rolled over so that you were no longer on your back. You sighed and reached down to your pocket to find your phone. Pulling it out, you saw that the screen had cracked; and the device would no longer turn itself on.

_Guess this is the end of the line for us..._ you idly thought, focusing on blocking out the ringing in your head. You wished that it was all a horrible dream, and that the world wasn't turning gray at the edges. The voices of your comrades once again were muffled as another pulse of pain washed over you. Closing your eyes and curling into a ball, you clutched your phone, your thumb rubbing small circles on the cracked screen until it became numb. At that point, you let yourself fall into a fitful nightmare of a burning city and a sun that wouldn't rise.

~~~

When you awoke, it was to the shrill shriek of one of your comrades. Sitting straight up, you ignored the dizzying sensation that overcame you. Your vision blurred and everything became gray. _That can't be a side effect from the eardrum, right?_

The screaming didn't stop when you got up and tried to ask for what was wrong. Your comrades summoned their weapons as they looked onto you in fear. Seeing their blades pointed at you, you stopped moving.

"What's wrong?"

Your voice didn't sound like itself. It echoed in your head and seemed to be consumed by ringing that came from your right side. Looking down at your hand, you noticed black miasma snaking its way around your form. Your hands and body warped into a grotesque shape covered in scales. _What happened to me?_

You tried reaching out towards the people who you once called your comrades in hopes of finding some sort of answer only to be lunged and hissed at. You shrank back in fear until you felt your back hit the wall behind you.

At that point, the ringing in your head became unbearable and you lost what control you had over your body. The world of gray you were in turned red. The ringing in your ears gave way to the screams and crunching of bones as you tore your comrades' limbs apart.

The red in your vision faded and became reflected in your hands covered in their blood.

~~~

_Don't leave._

Time seemed to slow around you. You couldn't tell the ringing in your ears from the screams of people when they saw your disfigured form as a daemon. You were fixated on finding the one thing that kept the sane part of you alive.

_Above all, stay safe for me._

His words echoed in your head on a daily basis, condemning you to a life in the shadows, searching for him so that you could apologize. He had one wish, and you couldn't make it come true. You had to find him. You had to apologize. It was the only way you could keep yourself from letting the daemon have it's merry way with you.

A world filled with night meant time seemed to eternally stretch from the night you had killed your comrades. You could only surmise that months, maybe even years had passed since that incident. Avoiding as many civilians as possible, you sought refuge within the ruins of what was once the grand city of Insomnia. What you could only assume were days passed by without relief from the ringing in your head. There were gaps in your memory from when your world would go from gray to red. In those times, try as you might, the only thing that you could remember was the screaming as yet another civilian was torn to shreds by your own hands.

You moved from one building to another, trying to never stay put for the sake of your own safety and for the safety of anyone near you. All the while, you searched and pined for the one person that you knew could make the world stop and free you from your Hell.

Surprisingly enough after what seemed like an eternity of searching, Ignis was the one who found you first.

You had just settled into the dark recesses of a dilapidated building near the citadel for the time being. The ringing and the pain had lulled you into a sense of security since you didn't hear any screaming nearby. As you closed your eyes to try to get some sleep, you heard heavy footsteps coming your way. The building you were in was the only that looked remotely like it could be used for a shelter so you knew that whoever it was was headed your way. You expected it to be one of the few Crownsguard left alive in this land forsaken by the Astrals.

What you didn't expect, was for Ignis to step past the doorway of the building. His movements were less graceful than you remembered, but his posture and his regal air was the same. You watched, hidden in your corner of the abandoned building, wondering what he was doing there. His eyes were covered by a reflective visor, and his clothes looked closer to what you remember members of the Kingsglaive wearing.

"Yes, I'll be right out, Gladio, I just want to see if the rumors are true..." Though his appearance was different, it was still the voice and cadence you remembered so fondly. You noticed he had said something else afterward; however, it was muffled out by the ringing.

"Ignis... is that you?"

He startled and spread his arms out to reassess the area.

"Who's there?" he called out, sweeping his arms slowly from one side to the other.

"Did you forget me?" you asked, timidly stepping out from the corner that you hid. You stilled your mind to remain focused on the man in front of you. The daemon that possessed you raged and fought against your will. _Let me have this moment, dammit. I will have it if it ends me._

"You've been hiding here this whole time?" he asked. He slowly approached you from where he last heard your voice. "Why didn't you find a safer place to hide? It's been years... I thought for sure you'd be--"

"I had no where else to go," you cut him off, not wanting him to fret any further. "I... I couldn't stay safe for you." You bit your inner lip, willing the ringing in your ears to still, if only for a little. "I... got hurt."

"Ah, well kitten, I guess that makes two of us," he says with a shaky laugh and he stepped towards you again. When he was finally close enough for you to see him well, you gasped and did your best to hold back the tears that misted over your eyes. Across his striking, stern face, a jagged scar painted one eye shut while his other eye looked into the distance, seeing nothing past an opal like cataract. You noticed that he twitched slightly every now and then, as if he felt some other presence in the room with the two of you.

_He knows. Dammit, he knows._

Shoving your intrusive thoughts to the side, you cradled his face in your hands, absorbing every detail of him. The ringing started to get louder the longer you pushed away the daemon inside.

"Hey, we match now," you let out a breathy laugh while his hand gently stroked your cheek. His thumb ran across your bottom lip. You guided his hand upwards so that his fingers feel and trace the scars on your face.

"So it seems..."

"You made it back home, I'm glad."

"As am I," he murmured.

"I'm... I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise to you... I tried, Ignis, I tried so hard." You could feel the pain spread from the side of your head again, the tell tale signs of the daemon wanting out and having enough of you wrestling control from it. You could feel your arm burn and warp as it took over you.

Ignis took a step back from you, feeling the changes in your body, you could tell his senses were on high alert of the danger you posed to him and anyone else near him.

"So I guess the rumors were true..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Ignis, I'm sorry," you rambled, wanting this moment to stretch itself so you could stay sane until the end.

"Shh, it's okay. You did well, you did so well," he whispered.

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on your lips; and for the first time in ten years, the ringing in your ears came to a stop. The air around you was filled with nothing but pure, sweet, silence. Suddenly, you felt sharp pain spread from your chest. You looked down and saw his dagger buried in your chest. Your eyes welled with tears of gratitude that the pain would finally end, that it would all finally be over for you."Thank you. You know? Thank you so much for all you've done," you whispered.

Using the last of your strength, you reached down and held onto his hands. You smiled as your world returned to color, and the sounds around you stilled. You pulled him into an embrace to whisper what had been on your mind for the last ten years.

_There’s one last request I have, my dearest._

_Somehow, fall in love with someone, make a family and live._

"Of course, I promise," he said as he felt your body disintegrate between his fingers and all was quiet as he clutched onto an old, worn pair of gloves.

 

 


End file.
